KPE Episode 137 - Aquarius

"Aquarius - My Ohu Year: the diary of Starshine Penny 1975" by Jill Brasell. Sharon Rose has read this book from the 'My Story' series and Elizabeth is her DJ for the podcast. Early in 1975, Estelle's mum leaves home to join a commune in the country, taking Estelle, aka Starshine, with her. At Aquarius, everyone lives together as one big family. But living off the land, without money, electricity or running water, isn't the paradise they all hoped for...
As the girls discuss in the podcast, it is hard for people living in the 21st century to understand why anyone would choose to live like that - with no electricity or television and wearing those hippy clothes!

KPE Episode 136 - Whitebait Fritters

"Whitebait Fritters" by Kingi McKinnon.
Leauma has read this book and Sam is his DJ. These boys are in Room 17. This is the story of a boy and his Dad who go on a fishing trip for the weekend to the Waikato River. Wiremu's father is going whitebaiting - and Wiremu wants to go too. His father thinks he is too young and may fall in the river. Then Mum takes Wiremu's side and his father gives in. But his father's turns out to be right about the falling in. As Leauma says in his podcast, this book has lots of fishing, lots of cooking, lots of eating- perfect for boys! What do you think?

KPE Episode 135 - Google Eyes

"Google Eyes" by Diana Noonan. Mele from Room 17 has read this book and Tiana is her DJ for this podcast. Google Eyes is a story about a boy who buys an old recipe book at a Garage Sale, and discovers an amazing recipe inside when he starts reading. He finds a recipe for reading minds! All he has to do is to look at something google eyed, say the magic words and he can read their minds! He has lots of fun with this new power and our podcasters know you will really enjoy this Kiwi Bites story. have a listen and tell them what you think....

KPE Episode 134 - It's all in your mind, James Robert

"It's all in your mind, James Robert" by Rebecca Weber. Matthew from Room 15 has read this book and Jama'al is his DJ for the podcast.
James Robert Howard just can't stop day-dreaming! No matter where he is, his imagination runs away with him. Real life just can't compete with the adventures he creates in his mind. Or at least, that's what he has always thought...
While he is on holiday with his parents, James Robert stumbles across something strange - a real adventure! Does he have the courage, the know-how, the ability to see it through? Maybe, with a little imagination....
The themes in this story match what we are learning this term at Pt England School in our study of the "Wonderful World of Water" . The boys discuss the impact of water pollutants on the environment in the light of what they have been learning over the past weeks.

KPE Episode 133 - "The Midnight Feast"

"The Midnight Feast" by Elizabeth Pulford.
Mele has been reading this book and Lani is her DJ for this podcast. These girls are both in Room 17. The story is about two girls, Tilly and Rosie, who are best friends, but then Margaret comes to stay. Why did she have to come and spoil it all with her tap dancing shoes and make-up? The Midnight Feast they had planned for Tilly's birthday looks like it is going to be ruined.

KPE Episode 132 - "The Dog I Share"

"The Dog I Share" by Janice Marriott.
Tanisha and Ramona from Room 15 tell us about another one of Janice Marriott's books. This story is about a girl who lives in a block of flats in the city. When a new tenant with a dog moves into her block of flats, Becky gets very excited. But the new neighbour isn’t very friendly, so Becky has to think of a plan if she is going to get to play with the dog.

KPE Episode 131 - "Don't Worry Nan, I'll Drive"

"Don't Worry Nan, I'll Drive" by Raymond McGrath. This story is reviewed by Caleb and Jordan, Year 5 boys from Room 16. It is a lovely picture book telling us about the adventures a small boy and his Nana have with a cardboard box. There's no looking back for Nana when she takes an adventurous drive with her grandson. They dodge dangers in the sky, get a little bit lost, check out what's happening under the sea and survive a crash landing!
The pictures are also drawn by Raymond McGrath.

KPE Episode 130 - "Famous"

"Famous" by Elizabeth Pulford. Tiana and Jaydn present this podcast about a boy who is desperate to become famous. But why would a kid be so worried about being famous anyway? Because this kid comes from a family of famous people and he just wants to be like the rest of them. Grandad is famous for his sunglasses collection; Grandma is famous for her wonky woodwork; Mum is famous for her heart-covered car; his sister is famous for her tattoos. He tries all kinds of things in his effort to become famous and none of them work. Then one day fame arrives in a most unexpected way!
Tiana is in Room 17 and Jaydn is in Room 15 and they worked together on this book that both of them had read.

KPE Episode 129-"Peggy's Pig"

"Peggy's Pig" by John Tarlton. Rose has read this book and Brennah interviews her about it. The girls enjoyed this wacky story about a girl called Peggy who lives on a pig farm and gets teased all the time by her classmates who have horses for their pets. Peggy's pet is a pig called Laffy and one day after the kids have been teasing her again she tells them she is entering Laffy in the local kids' horse-racing derby. She she will be racing against them - on a pig!
These girls are Year 5 students in Room 14. Rose says, "I liked this story because Laffy beat the horses and the other horses went around in circles and three riders fell off!" Brennah says, "It has a funny picture on the cover. It must be a fast pig."

KPE Episode 128 - "The Curse of Being Pharoah"

"The Curse of Being Pharoah" by Janice Marriott. Sarah from Room 18 has read this story and discusses it with Joseph.
Janice Marriott is one of our favourite authors and we have fond memories of the day she spent at Pt England School.
From the beginning of time until last Monday, Matt was the bully and know-it-all in our class. Karen Kwon was the quiet kid at the back who no-one remembered to ask to birthday parties.
But last Monday, everything changed. Now Matt sits at the back of the class, as quiet as an Egyptian mummy. Karen is giggly and happy... This story is about how this big change happened!

KPE Episode 127 - Kiwi

"Kiwi" by Jane Stephens and Judy Lambert. This book is presented by Coltrane with Pheonix as his DJ. They are Year 5 students in Room 16. This is a non-fiction book which is written in rhymes and both boys greatly enjoyed gaining information in this way. For anyone who thinks they know everything there is to know about kiwis, this book has some surprises....

KPE Episode 126 -"Boxer"

"Boxer" by Ian Charlton is presented by Brennah and Rose from Room 14. Both girls are in Year 5. Boxer is a pig - the nastiest, greediest, rudest pig in the world. He spends his life escaping from his pen and destroying the garden. Dot, her Mum and brother Charlie have to rely on Dad to show Boxer who is boss. But then one day the postman brings a letter that will change all that. Dad is called up to join the army and Dot is given a new responsibility while Dad is overseas - looking after Boxer. Brennah says, "Boxer was a big mean pig. The book was a bit sad because Dad left for the war." Rose says, "I didn't like it when Boxer kept on breaking out of his pen."

KPE Episode 125 - "The Video Shop Sparrow"

"The Video Shop Sparrow" by Joy Cowley. Sean from Room 18 read this book and Tari is his DJ. This is a lovely story about two boys who discover a sparrow trapped in their local video shop over the New Year holidays. They have to go to great lengths to convince an adult to help them rescue the sparrow. They are surprised by how many adults tell them that 'sparrows don't matter' because there are so many of them. The beautiful illustrations are done by Gavin Bishop. Tell them what you think of their podcast...

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KPE Episode 124 -"Really Rotten Rufus"

"Really Rotten Rufus" by Jonathan Dunstan.
Tanisha and Tinei from Room 15 present this podcast.
He's strong. He's Arnold Schwarzenegger with feathers. He's a prize-winning Red with a bad temper and a mean streak a mile wide. As the title ssays, it is the story of a really, really rotten rooster who's about to face the biggest lesson of his life. Can Rufus EVER learn to behave himself? Tanisha tells us what she learnt when she read the book.
Tinei says, " I liked it when Tanisha told me about how Rufus learned his lesson and finally kept quiet. And I liked the pictures in this book."
Tanisha says, " I liked the part when Uncle Angus let him have one more chance to win a ribbon and 2 boys came and poked him with a stick and he fell out of the cage..."Tell them what YOU think of this podcast.

KPE Episode 123 - "Professor Ponsonby, McIntosh and the Wool Bug"

"Professor Ponsonby, McIntosh and the Wool Bug" by John Parker.This episode of KPE is presented by Uani and Keletiola from Room 15. Both girls are in Year 5. When the dreaded Wool Bug appears in Baaville, the world famous sheep town is in trouble. So Professor Ponsonby, assisted by his cat McIntosh, decides to come to the rescue. The only trouble is, Professor Ponsonby's inventions never work quite the way Baaville wants them to....

KPE Episode 122 - "Happy Birthday Mrs Felonius"

"Happy Birthday Mrs Felonius" by Joy Cowley is presented by Caprice and Ramona from Room 15.
These girls are both in Year 5. What do you give a pirate for a birthday present? After you have listened to this podcast you will have plenty of ideas! In this story Captain Felonius grants his wife's birthday wish to go to Piratesville to see her grandchildren. But their voyage runs into problems - getting lost, storms and blizzards, hostile strangers, running aground, and pirates! Caprice says, "It was really funny, especially the ending. Mr and Mrs Felonius think the other ship is their enemy but it's their grandchildren coming to surprise them. It's really good to read. Big kids might find it really interesting and funny." Ramona says, " I really liked hearing about when they blasted the catapult because it was really funny. Caprice made it sound like an interesting book..." Tell them what you think of their podcast...

KPE Episode 121 - " The Screaming Mean Machine"

"The Screaming Mean Machine" by Joy Cowley.
Pheonix from Room 16 has been reading this story and Lorenz from Room 18 is his DJ. This is a story about a girl who loves going on the rides at an amusement park, but has had to wait until she grew tall enough to go on the roller coaster - which is something most kids can relate to. This is the year when she gets to ride on it and we hear about the fun and excitement of the ride.
Pheonix says: "I've been to Rainbow's End about 9 times and my favourite ride is the roller coaster. It was a great book to read because it brought back good memories..."
Lorenx says, "This would be a really great book for people to read. If you want to go to Rainbow's End in Year 6, keep on working hard."

KPE Episode 120 - "Fish Tale"

"Fish Tale" by Lorraine Orman is presented by Braxton and Leauma, Year 6 boys from Room 17.
This is a story of a family who have to change their life when their Grandfather comes to live with them. Ever since Great-Gran died he's been living with Kathleen and her mum, and Gramps has been very quiet and sad-looking all the time. And on top of that, Kathleen's mum has been working long hours now that Gramps is around to 'look after' his granddaughter. He brings one box of treasures with him when he moves in and one of the things in the box is a grumpy looking garden gnome. The gnome comes to their rescue in a surprising way when Kathleen is grumbling about their family's problems. This is another story from the Kiwi Bites series.Have a listen to their podcast....

KPE Episode 119 - "Black Dog"

"Black Dog" by Pamela Allen.
This podcast is presented by Cain from Room 14 and Tari from Room 18.
Christina and Black Dog are best friends. They live in a house in the forest and are always together. But one day Christina catches sight of a strange and wonderful bird and from then on can think of nothing else. Poor Black Dog is quite forgotten. This is a story about the things someone will do to attract the attention of the person they love most. Tell us what you think of this.

KPE Episode 118 - "Bidibidi"

"Bidibidi" by Gavin Bishop. This picture book was introduced by Carl and Hawea from Room 17. They tell us the story of an adventurous sheep (named after that most annoying plant that all New Zealanders have got stuck in their socks at some time of their life) who went off chasing rainbows. The surprising thing was that after a series of adventures she found her rainbow. As Hawea discovered during the podcast, to enjoy this book you really DO need to use your imagination.
Carl says, " It was an interesting book and I had fun reading it. Making the podcast was fun because I haven't made one in a long time."
Hawea says, " The sheep had a funny name. I wonder how he came up with it. Hey, Gavin Bishop, I have just finished podcasting another one of your books. Could you tell us why you called th sheep Bidibidi? Did Carl guess right?"

KPE Episode 117 - "Wibble-wobble"

"Wibble-wobble" by Margaret Mahy is presented by Abraham and Lanivia from Room 17.
This is Abraham's first podcast and he tells us about one of the stories in this collection from Story Chest. The boys enjoyed this story and the discussion about the best way to even up the legs of a wobbly table.
In the story a man was trying to eat his soup but the table kept going wibble-wobble. He thought he had solved the problem by putting a book under one leg to even it up. He had to come up with a better solution when the girl from next door came visiting and wanted Mr Wiggle to read her a story from the book .... that was under the table leg...

KPE Episode 116 - "The Boy With Two Shadows"

"The Boy With Two Shadows" by Margaret Mahy is brought to us by Rasil and Sarah from Room 18.
It is the story of a boy who takes such good care of his shadow that a witch notices and asks him to look after her shadow while she goes on holiday. This was not a good move on his part for two reasons. First of all he scared everyone as he walked around towing the witch's shadow. Secondly, the witch's shadow had a mean streak and tormented his own shadow until it ran away.
The girls enjoyed this story even though they tell us that, from their knowledge of shadows, it was not possible!

KPE Episode 115 "The Lost Watch"

"The Lost Watch" by Philippa Werry and Alice Bell.
This podcast is presented by Tiana and Kayla from Room 17. Both girls are Year 6 students.
This story is about a boy who takes his father's birthday watch to school and loses it.
That would be bad enough, but Henry lets his baby sister take the blame for it. When the watch turns up Henry has to find a way to return it to Dad without letting on that he was the one who took it....
Tiana enjoyed the story, but she thought that the way Henry let his baby sister take the blame was pretty sad. See what you think when you read the book....
Click here to visit Room 17's web page

KPE Episode 114 "A Pinch of Salt"

"A Pinch of Salt" by Peter Jacks is presented by Leander and Rose from Room 14.
This is a story of a boy who's big brother is always playing tricks on him. His mother always says "You must take what your brother says with a pinch of salt". Leander talks about what this saying means and tells us about some of the tricks the big brother played.

KPE Episode 113 "Legend of Speed"

"Legend of Speed - the Burt Munro Story" by Tim Hanna with David Larsen.
From the book:
Everyone said Burt Munro was mad - mad about motorcycles, mad about souping them up and, mostly, mad about speed. One of the original speed freaks.
As Burt raced along the beaches near his home in Invercargill, New Zealand, he dreamed of one day taking his bright red Indian motorcycle to the enormous salt flats of Utah, USA. The Bonneville salt flats are the flattest, whitest desert in the world and the place to set and break land speed records. Here Burt would find out just how fast he could go....

Leauma read this book and Dyrarn interviews him in this podcast.
Leauma met Tim Hanna at the Storylines festival this year and had the opportunity to talk to him about the book. He then read the book for himself and has produced this episode about it.
Click here to visit their class web page

KPE Episode 112 - "The Great Pavlova Cover Up"

"The Great Pavlova Cover Up" edited by Jo Noble.
This is a collection of New Zealand stories for children and was read by Sarah. Her DJ for the podcast was Elizabeth. Both girls are Year 6 students from Room 18.
Sarah chose three stories from this anthology to review in the podcast; 'Jonathon Peabody's Extraordinary Mother', 'Porridge', and the 'Great Pavlova Cover up'.
This book comes highly recommended by the girls. They found the collection of stories interesting and varied. 'Great Pavlova Cover up' was the favourite, though Sarah and Elizabeth both tell us that their mother's would know if the dog ate something that they had cooked and the family tried to replace it with a bought one!
Click here to visit their class web page

KPE Episode 111 - "A Mouse Singing in the Reeds"

"A Mouse Singing in the Reeds" by Ron Bacon and Mary Taylor.
Set in a distant time and place this beautifully illustrated story tells us of how a young boy discovers the magic of making music.
One day a young boy is sent by his mother to cut reeds by a river. As he walks home with his bundle of reeds he hears mysterious whispering sounds. What are these sounds he wonders? Where are they coming from? And as he walks through the rising wind, the whispering sounds grow louder.
Cain from Room 14 has been reading this story and Jaydn from Room 15 interviews him. Both boys are Year 5 students.

KPE Episode 110 -"Killer Moves"

"Killer Moves" by Denis Edwards.

Mikaela has published her first podcast and Latisha is her DJ. Both girls are Year 6 students from Room 18. This is a book in the Sport Max series and is a good read for kids who enjoy sport - and Mikaela is very good at sport!
The story is about Jack, a boy who plays in a Rugby League team. He needs to pull out some Killer Moves if his team is going to beat Carlton Park in the finals. He finds his inspiration in some interesting places, including his ballet dancing, karate playing sisters.
Mikaela is sure that you will enjoy this story too.
Click here to visit their class website

KPE Episode 109 - "Jam- A True Story"

"Jam - A True Story" by Margaret Mahy. Simone from Room 15 has been reading this story and Tinei interviews her for this podcast. In this funny, but true, story the father stays at home and runs the house while the mother goes to work as an important scientist. Father solves the problem of having too many plums on the tree by making jam... lots of jam... Simone says, "I enjoyed reading it. I thought it was a great story. I liked it when he made lots of things out of the jam...."
Tinei says, " I want to read it myself now coz there was a part where they had a nightmare about jam and it made me want to read it..."

KPE Episode 108 - "The Robber and the Millionaire"

"The Robber and the Millionaire" by Eirlys Hunter.
Kayla from Room 17 has read this book and teams up with Tiana for the podcast.
Once there was a robber who had robbed all the houses in Lamington and a millionaire who had just moved to Lamington and was terrified of being robbed. See what happens when they join forces in this story and both try to help each other change their ways.

KPE Episode 107 - "Pigtails the Pirate"

"Pigtails the Pirate" by David Elliott.

Dominique has been reading this book and Jaydn is his DJ. Both boys are year 5 students from Room 15. This is the story of Jess who sets sail to find her father. She runs into a giant and has to overcome some rather large problems before the happy-ever-after ending.
Click here to visit their class webpage

KPE Episode 106 - "The Pumpkin Man and ..."

"The Pumpkin Man and the Crafty Creeper" by Margaret Mahy. Lanivia has been reading this story and Moses is his DJ. Both boys are Year 6 students in Room 17. In this story Mr Parkins is a keen gardener who loves to grow huge pumpkins. He invites trouble when he takes home a creeper as he finds it a very demanding plant to care for. Lanivia tells us "It's a crazy story. The plant is really annoying. It is a moaner. Mr Parkin should have left the plant there!" Moses tells us,"It was exciting doing my first podcast and being a cool DJ. I felt really sorry for Mr Parkin." Visit their class web pages here

KPE Episode 105 - "The Tree Girl"

"The Tree Girl" by Pauline Cartwright is presented by John and Matthew from Room 15. Both of these boys are Year 5 students. The story includes themes of conservation and land ownership.
John says " I think it was a pretty interesting book. Before I had read the book I had no idea that some progress and development companies can just steal land off other people..."
Matthew comments "When I first read the script I thought it sounded pretty interesting.."
Visit their class web pages here

KPE Episode 104 - "Kapai and the City of Sails"

"Kapai and the City of Sails" by Uncle ANZAC.
Kaleli has been reading this story and Sam is his DJ. Both boys are in Room 17. This story is about the adventures of Kapai as he visits Auckland for the first time with his family. They travel around in a yellow bus, driven by Uncle Slim, and visit some of the tourist spots in Auckland, the City of Sails. At one stage they drive their bus into the sea and it turns into a Magic Yellow Waka and they are able to sail it on the harbour.
Kaleli says, "I liked reading the book. The pictures are really cool. I hope you liked listening to our podcast. Thanks to Sam for helping me with my first podcast."
Click here to visit our class webpages

KPE Episode 103 - "Little Blue Penguin"

"Little Blue Penguin" by Elaine Power.
Rose from Room 14 has been reading this book and Rasil from Room 18 is her DJ. The story is set in Auckland and is about the adventures of a little blue penguin who is looking for a friend to play with. Of course it looks in all the wrong places before finally discovering another penguin in a cave under a pohutakawa tree.
Rose is in Year 5 and Rasil is in Year 6.
Check out our website here

KPE Episode 102 - "Good Morning Good Night"

"Good Morning Good Night" by Erin Devlin.
Taiapa and Leilani from Room 16 present this book in episode 102. It is a story that comes with a CD to listen along to as well - in English and in Maori. The story is told through the eyes of a young kiwi bird. Little Kiwi is finding his food and playing lots of fun games- but he doesn't realise that his 'daytime' is night-time for most of his friends! This is a rhyming story.
The script for this podcast was written by a group of children from Room 16 and Taiapa and Leilani were selected to present it. They are all starting their podcasting journey with this episode. Look out for more podcasts from them in the future now that they know how easy it is to do!
Visit our school website here:

KPE Episode 101 - "Watercress Tuna"

"Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street by Patricia Grace.
This episode was podcast by Leander and Brennah from Room 14.
In this story an unusual tuna with a magic throat leaps out of his stream and visits a number of children in Champion Street in Wellington. As he visits each house he gives a child and article of clothing for dancing or a musical instrument. Then the children all come out onto the street and dance together with the tuna.
Tuna is the Maori word for eel.
Leander says this was an interesting book because the tuna gives the children things from their own culture. We had to find out a lot about different cultures to make this podcast. Luckily we had people in our school from most of the cultures in the story and they helped us. The rest we looked up on Google.
We hope you enjoy this story too.